I Just Cleaned 24 Pipes in 20 Minutes!

[crashthegrey]

Not to throw fuel on the fire, but I do see an issue with water over time. All of my wood cutting boards get logged if not careful about how they dry after washing, and then I need to oil them more frequently the more I wash and dry them. It is not something I see right away, but after a couple of years it becomes a real issue. Maybe the exposure time for pipes is low enough for this not to be an issue.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Bassbug, I believe it is the sap that they are aging out of the briar, not water.

If I were doing something other than just letting some water run through the bowl and out the stem for a few seconds... maybe. You'd think we were letting them soak in a rolling boil.
It's funny, JPMC... just shared this with us over a year ago, and some of us tried it and saw some great results. If someone else picks it up, great. If no one else in the entire world ever puts water on their pipe, I will be perfectly fine with that. But, if one more moron tells me a fishing story/joke that ends with a pipe falling in the river and being utterly destroyed, please do not expect me to laugh. ::

 

[cigrmaster]

Would you wash your pool cue with water....of course not. Same thing with a pipe. The wood will warp over time and all of your pipes will eventually become out of round. Your bowls are going to look like they were reamed by a 5 year old. Also the shanks will warp and your stems won't fit like their supposed to.
I had an independent laboratory test how water affects briar pipes. They studied this issue for over 2 years and used 100 pipes. The results were conclusive, warped pipes all the way around. :nana:

 

[markus]

I'll try it with one of my cheaper pipes first, but I may start doing this.

Currently I'm spending half the damn night and a small fortune in pipe cleaners, paper towels and various other pipe cleaning supplies... and that's just for a dozen or so pipes!

What can I say... I'm very thorough! :wink:

 

[saltedplug]

Would you wash your pool cue with water....of course not. Same thing with a pipe. The wood will warp over time and all of your pipes will eventually become out of round. Your bowls are going to look like they were reamed by a 5 year old. Also the shanks will warp and your stems won't fit like their supposed to.
I had an independent laboratory test how water affects briar pipes. They studied this issue for over 2 years and used 100 pipes. The results were conclusive, warped pipes all the way around. :nana:

Ah, Harris! Thank you so much! This is what I'd been thinking all along, that although wood can deal with water it does so at cost. And oooh! the study you had done provides the longitudinaliity that I felt needed. Thank you!

 

[workman]

The briar can take it I'm sure. Some finishes might not. I haven't a cue, but I do own hammers with wooden shafts that are wet all the time and do just fine.

 

[cigrmaster]

salt, always a pleasure to enlighten you.

 

[instymp]

Would you wash your pool cue with water....of course not. Same thing with a pipe. The wood will warp over time and all of your pipes will eventually become out of round. Your bowls are going to look like they were reamed by a 5 year old. Also the shanks will warp and your stems won't fit like their supposed to.
I had an independent laboratory test how water affects briar pipes. They studied this issue for over 2 years and used 100 pipes. The results were conclusive, warped pipes all the way around. :nana:
Yes sir.

Guess maybe thats why they have treated lumber?

 

[jpmcwjr]

For an attempt at a straight answer about water and briar; the wood is stressed, if you will, by moisture far more by smoking than flushing. The reason is the duration of the exposure (as long as the pipe is lit, so ten minutes to over an hour) and the temperature of the steam as it passes down the heel into the airway and out the stem. Hot water is there for a few seconds, and its temp is much lower than the moisture in the combusted material's stream, aka smoke.

 

[trouttimes]

My well water is full of minerals, very high in calcium. Can't wash a car because of the film. I don't want that film on my pipes.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

...I also don't put a flame to my pool cues. ::

 

[ron123]

They've been making boats from wood since time eternal. But to this day, does anyone build a boat from briar? I rest my case...

 

[spartacus]

One of my hobbies is making fine furniture. I work with wood a lot. Moisture is bad for wood. With that said, a pipe is full of moisture after a smoke anyways. The wood is wet regardless. I do not think adding additional water to the pipe will change a whole lot as long as you dry it as you normally would.

OK, I'm going to give it a try. I store my pipes in my closet. When I walk in that room it smells like an ashtray. I was thinking about getting a wall cabinet with a door to see if that would help. Maybe this will do the trick!

 

[crashthegrey]

I also don't put a flame to my pool cues.

Fair enough. I still don't know.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I love how the one guy who doesn't smoke pipes on this forum is aggravating the argument, ha ha. Love ya, Salted.
Oh, and if you live somewhere where you wouldn't even wash your car with the water... then of course you wouldn't want to wash your pipe. Heck, I wouldn't want to take a bath there either. Yuck.
Try this, drop your pipe in water, and another in alcohol, and lets see which pipe gets the ruined finish.

Oh, but some of you are saying, 'but I don't get alcohol on the surface of the pipe when I clean them...' but yet you assume that we are getting the surface saturated in water?

 

[timt]

What the hell happened to common sense? No, I won't give my briars a bath, exposing them to unnecessary moisture. For crying out loud, I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I think that like most thing argued about on here, they are just jerking chains. No one can be that... you know. ::

But, as I said, what other people do with their pipes, is there business.

But, just fair warning... it is very bad luck to be that superstitious. ::

 

[orobusto]

Not sure how a quick flush with water can be worse than doing a s/a treatment. If you use 100 proof spirits, 50% of that liquid is water and if you use 70% iso alcohol, 30% of that is water. You are soaking your chamber in water for many hours waiting for evaporation. Am I missing something?

 

[crashthegrey]

The salt and alcohol treatment is far worse. Don't do that.

 

[renfield]

I can’t bring myself to run water through the stummel but I do remove the stem and run warm water through it every few bowls after reading about people waterboarding their pipes. Run a pipe cleaner through it and good to go. It definitely does a better job than a cleaner alone and noticeably improves flavors, even if I’m not changing blends.
New to me estates get Everclear and salt and never any problems with that and always effective at exorcising the demons of the previous owner’s tobacco choices.